


slow and steady

by Nervously_Spouting_Poetry



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: F/F, Skating, eth can't skate she's Trying, lesbian time, lesbian!lexthan, lexthan, they FUCKIN' y'all but y'know not really fhkldsdsklj, uhhh implied sexual content, uhhhhh skating, winter fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nervously_Spouting_Poetry/pseuds/Nervously_Spouting_Poetry
Summary: Ether Green can't skate.Lex Foster can, and damn it, it's like she's trying to rub it in.
Relationships: Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	slow and steady

**Author's Note:**

  * For [UsagichanP](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UsagichanP/gifts).



> MERRY CHRISTMAS BABEY! Sorry this is so late, hhnkg,, but I hope you had a happy holiday, Usagi! This one's for you, babe <3

To say that Ether Green could skate would be a complete fucking lie.

That wasn’t to say that she was a _bad_ skater, per-se, because she _could_ stand on her own two feet and wobble her way around on the ice, wearing a pair of oversized hockey skates laced up as tight as she could get them— though that wasn’t to say that she could fucking _stop_ on the ice. She could _go_ , and she could _sort of_ turn if she really threw her body into it, but the idea of slamming herself sideways with a pair of knives strapped to her feet and hoping that she’d skid to a halt sounded fucking _insane_. 

She knew enough about skating to _convince_ people that she could skate.

She couldn’t play hockey, she sure as _hell_ wasn’t about to try figure skating, and anything other than going in a wobbly sort of oval shape was completely off the table, but she could hold her own _fairly_ well on the rink, which was a fucking accomplishment in her books, seeing as she _hated_ skating. 

There was only one person who could _ever_ have convinced her to strap on her skates and hobble out onto the ice, clutching _hard_ to the railing. 

One girl. 

One girl that had _promised_ to hold her hand the whole time, _and_ who had turned out to be a _filthy fucking liar_. 

“Oh, _c’mon_ , Eth,” Lex prompted from where she effortlessly glided _backward_ on the ice like the showoff she was, “just put one skate in front of the other and you’ll--”

“Eat shit and _die?_ ” Ether cut her off-- _fuck_ , how come she’d let Lex lead her _this_ far away from the railing? She was practically in the middle of the rink-- the eye of the storm-- and as Ether wobbled and pathetically tried to get her legs to _fucking cooperate_ and make her _float for fuck’s sake_ on the ice the way Lex seemed to, she only succeeded in wobbling dangerously on the slippery surface. 

Lex, the bitch that she was, bit back a smirk. 

“Well, with _that_ attitude…” She started, trailing off and pushing herself a little farther backward when Ether desperately tried to skate toward her. Her legs pumped uselessly in place-- the fact that hockey skates didn’t have those weird fucking prong things on the front becoming more an dmore obvious as she fruitlessly dug the ends of the skates into the ice. 

“Don’t you fuckin’ laugh!” 

It only made Lex laugh harder, and honestly, she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

After all, she looked so carefree when she threw her head back and _cackled_ at Ether’s expense, the striped scarf wound tight around her neck fluttering in the breeze-- cheeks and nose dusted with a light pink thanks to the chill-- her eyes crinkled at the corners and her nose wrinkled just so.

“ _Make_ me, Green.”

“Maybe I _will._ ” 

Lex shrugged. “Gotta catch me first,” she responded, and without giving Ether time to get her bearings— skated off without so much as a shred of difficulty.

 _“Lexie—_ come the fuck _on—“_

“Keep up!”

Ether set her jaw. 

_Fucking how?_

Lex was like, probably the best teenaged skater in Hatchetfield as far as Ether knew (and if anybody said otherwise they’d be fucking _wrong_ because even if they _could_ manage to do showoffy tricks, they wouldn’t be Lex _fucking_ Foster, so checkmate there), and Eth was… not that. Not by a long fucking shot.

That didn’t stop her from pretending she knew what she was doing as she pathetically tried to remember what the hell the proper placement for her feet was— _T shaped or something like that? And then you push?_ — and half-skated, half mirrored a baby giraffe on roller skates on her way across the ice. 

Her heart was racing.

 _Not_ because of lovey-dovey teenage bullshit like it was _supposed_ to be racing from, but because she was _fairly_ certain she was about to fucking _die_.

About to die with Lex doing nothing but _watch_ , hiding a smirk as well as she could behind her scarf-- fucking _typical_. 

Even if she _was_ cute, Eth wasn’t about to admit it. 

Instead, she lowered her head and began to slip forward, trying to gain speed despite the fact that there was absolutely _no_ traction to be found on the ice’s surface. Her limbs threatened to collapse-- threatened to shoot out from under her-- though she set her jaw and forced herself forward. She was _not_ going to fuck this up. 

Hopefully. You need to stop _moving!”_ She sputtered, watching as Lex took another slow, gliding step backward, earning a snicker and a shrug.

“Keep up, then,” Lex huffed out in response. 

Eth wobbled as she tried in vain to pick up speed. Her arms swung out at her sides wildy-- she looked almost like an out of control windmill as she put in her best effort in a noble attempt to speed up and stay _upright_ while doing it. 

“How th’ _hell_ ,” she hissed through her teeth-- barely daring to open her mouth in case she slipped and bit off her tongue or some nasty shit like that, “am I supposed to keep up if you won’t _stop--”_

Her skate found a rut in the ice. 

When she tried to catch her balance, she overcorrected, and with a sharp cry--

 _“--GAH--_ ” 

\--she fell flat on her ass. 

For a few long, heavy seconds, all Ether could do was sit there. She could _feel_ her jeans getting soaked through thanks to the ice-- jeans that Lex had _told_ her not to wear-- and although she knew she could _probably_ pull herself to her feet, from where she was sprawled out, she could see Lex doubling back for her. 

At least she wasn’t laughing at her. 

In fact, her girlfriend looked genuinely concerned as she skidded to a halt mere inches from Eth’s feet, crouching and reaching for her hands.

“Eth-- _shit_ , are you okay?” She asked, worry lacing her words as her hands slid into place against Ether’s, fingers twining. 

Eth rolled her eyes. “Fuckin’ peachy,” she huffed. 

“Eth.”

“ _Lex_.”

She couldn’t help but put a bit of a drawl into Lex’s name-- pulling it out into two syllables and jerking her head sharply to the left. 

Lex scoffed at her. “You’re such a fucking child.”

The pressure of Lex’s fingers digging into Eth’s hands intensified, and with a little grunt, the shorter girl gave her a tug in an attempt to help her to her feet-- which really only managed to make Eth wobble even fucking _more_ and give a pathetic sounding yelp.

“ _Hey!_ Easy!” Struggling, _barely_ managing to keep from falling back over, Eth frantically gripped Lex’s hands and stumbled to her feet, feeling the blades attached to her feet threatening to send her tipping over. “I just had a fuckin’ life-threatening--”

“There are _literal_ children tougher than you, Green,” Lex cut in, though Eth ignored her. 

“-- _injury!”_ She finished in a near squawk of indignance, struggling to match pace with Lex as she sped up, pulling her along with her, the crackhead that she was. 

Or maybe Ether was the real crackhead, because she kept pace, keeping an expression of faux annoyance on her face as Lex continued to skate onward. 

“There are _literal_ children on the ice that are more graceful than you,” Lex mumbled after a minute of silence, save for their skates on the ice. 

“Oh, I’m sorry I’m not a fuckin’ _hockey star_ \--” letting go of Lex’s hand for a moment to wave her own in a broad, sweeping gesture across the ice, Eth wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue. “--or a _figure skater--”_

“I could let go of your hand right now.”

In an instant, Ether’s expression changed to one of fear. 

“ _Please_ don’t,” she whined, at which Lex laughed and tightened her grip-- though her expression of mild irritation switched to one that was almost soft when Ether gave her fingers a series of three squeezes. 

The other girl was quick to return it. “Thought so.”

“ _Yeah_ you thought so,” Eth enthused, “‘cause if you _do_ , I’ll like, impale myself.”

Lex choked on her own laughter. 

“ _Ether--”_

“I’m serious!” Clinging to her girlfriend’s hand as they rounded a corner-- her other hand shooting out to skirt along the wall for balance-- Eth looked Lex in the eye and shot her a mock scowl. “I’ll go down on my knees and bend my legs back far enough that the blades go through my fuckin’ ribs!” Nearly throwing herself off balance and gripping Lex’s hand _tighter,_ Eth tried her best to make a series of crunching, squishing noises with her tongue, though all she really did was attract the attention of a passerby-- lo and behold, a fucking _hockey kid_. 

The _worst_ little fuckers on the ice. 

This one was no different, either, skating up _real_ close to Eth’s wobbling shape and all but cutting her off where she slid (skating was too nice a term. She was _sliding_ across the ice, and _poorly_ at that). 

Gritting her teeth, Eth all but crushed Lex’s fingers as she tried to regain her rhythm. “Gonna break that little fucker’s kneecaps if he tries that shit again.”

“The only thing you’re going to break is my fucking _hand_.”

Eth rolled her eyes. “You _said_ I could hold it,” she pointed out, earning a huff from Lex in response.

“Yeah, _hold it_ , not put it in a fucking _clamp_. You’re gonna break my fingers.”

“ _Well_ ,” Ether huffed out, wobbling a little more and bumping her shoulder against Lex as she tried once again to stand steady, “ _maybe_ , if you let me use one of those things the kids are usin’, I _wouldn’t_ break your fingers--”

“Oh my _god_ , Eth, you’re _fine.”_

Eth begged to fucking differ, but as Lex gently began to guide her in yet another wide circle of the rink, she forced herself to keep her comments to a minimum. After all, Lex loved skating. 

She _knew_ Lex loved skating. 

It was one of the only things the Fosters had been able to do to get out of their house, and at times, Eth would be their ride to the rink-- Hannah in the backseat and Lex giving her a quick peck on the cheek before slipping out to the arena for a few hours of cheap, calm fun. 

Calm for _them_ , anyway. 

“Lexie,” Ether started to say, unable to quite catch her breath thanks to Lex speeding up _yet-a-fucking-gain_ , “I know you _love_ skatin’, but we’ve been here like, an _hour_ , and I _really_ dunno how much longer I can keep this up.”

_With skates that aren’t my size._

_And a cramp._

_And my ass hurts real fuckin’ bad since I fell._

It took everything in her and then a little extra to keep the comments at bay, and it was even _harder_ to do it when Lex gave a short sigh.

“...one more lap?”

Ether groaned. 

“ _Lex_ , you’re killin’ me here,” she whined out, squishing Lex’s fingers as hard as she could for a second before relenting when Lex gave another sigh and slowly, _slowly_ stood up as tall as she could manage and put a hand on Ether’s shoulder, prompting her to bend over. 

Her breath ghosted over Eth’s ear. 

“ _One_ more lap,” she murmured, huskily, her voice dipping to a tone that made Ether’s skin prickle with goosebumps, “and we can go find some way to _warm up…_ ” 

_Oh._

_Okay._

Eth swallowed heavily. Her face was _burning_ now, and not from the cold that had nipped at her nose. No. This was something else. 

The coy grin on Lex’s face told her that it was _definitely_ something her girlfriend had noticed.

Son of a bitch.

“...in the car,” Lex finished, feigning innocence even as Ether bit down hard on her lip. “‘Kay?” 

“‘Kay,” Eth echoed, croakily. 

_More than okay._

If Lex was smiling at her the way she was and their hands were laced the way they were, and if Lex Foster decided _not_ to continue the lying streak she’d started… it would be fucking _fantastic._

(It was.)

(Even if she had to hobble around the ice with knives strapped to her feet and her heart beating in her throat, it was more than worth it for the way that Lex had looked at her while she’d pulled off her skates, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.)

(The first of _many_ that evening.)

(Though the _best_ part of the evening had been when they'd lay side by side in the back of Eth's jalopy, hands clasped, foreheads pressed together, and Eth had quietly murmured a sentence of three words, and Lex hadn't hesitated before echoing it.)


End file.
